China B&C offers room for profile, pipe growth

show in New Delhi in early February, Wang Zhangje, director of the China Plastics Piping Assn., reckoned the country has about 3000 large-scale pipe extruders, but that just 20 of these account for some 40% of the country’s total capacity. Output for the entire plastic pipe processing industry there (for Jan.-Oct. 2008) was 4.2 million tonnes; PVC accounts for about 60% of the plastics pipe extruded in the country, he says, with PE at 27% and PP 10%. Although the domestic market is going well, exports are increasing too, he says. Zhangje predicts plastics pipes will account for 60% of all new pipe laid in the country by 2010, with demand growing at better than 10% AAGR.

Liao Zhengpin, president of the China Plastics Processing Industry Assn., who spoke at the same conference, said that plastics’ use in China’s building and construction (B&C) market was developing rapidly, with the government very supportive of profiles made of wood, or other natural fibers, as well plastic composites, with a push for greater use of recyclate in products. He said that, although the domestic industry has seen production drops since November 2008, and expected this slowdown to continue through much of this year, demand for pipe, window profiles, and door profiles all appeared set to remain solid, with the government continuing to support B&C efforts, especially in rural areas. —[email protected]